Her Weapon was a Camera

By Rita Cox

Editor

Pat Livingston, of Canton, may have left the U.S. Army decades ago, but she always carries with her a deep patriotism and lives her life loving her country and fellow veterans.

Pat is in a minority, as she was one of only an estimated 5,000 American women who served in Vietnam, those numbers sometimes vary, according to different resources, but out of all the thousands of women who served, 90 percent were nurses. That left a small percentage of women who had other duties. Livingston joined the Army in 1965, mainly as a way to escape her abusive mother. She was living in Quincy and had worked for a photographer. She first went to Ft. McClellan in Alabama and had asked to be assigned to photo school. She then went to Ft. Monmouth in New Jersey, and then sent to Ft. Holabird, Maryland, where she attended US Army Intelligence School.

Some of Pat's training was a lot different than her male counterparts. The ladies were required to wear makeup and took instructions on how to apply it and do their hair. She did not have to undergo a buzz haircut, required length was above the shoulders and always to be kept neat. Her uniforms were skirts instead of pants. After intelligence and photography school, she was sent to Vietnam on three temporary assignments. As an intelligence photographer, she was assigned to take pictures to locate possible tunnels of the enemy. During the conflict the Viet Cong dug thousands of miles of tunnels and used the underground paths to transport supplies, hide troops, lay booby traps and other uses. Some of the tunnels housed entire villages, hospitals and even factories.

Pat's mission was to take infrared photos, laying on her stomach in the belly of a low flying helicopter. They would fly over an area and she would shoot her photos while the gunner on the helicopter sprayed the area with bullets. It was very loud in the helicopter. The pilot would notify the gunner and the gunner would tap on her on her helmet when the were over the assigned area. He would start shooting his machine gun and she would start shooting with her camera. The Army needed to know the locations of the tunnels and with infrared photography it would show where they had cut brush and trees to hide the location, cause the infrared would show what is dead, so the dead brush and trees would be a big clue as to where a tunnel might be located. After she took the photos, she would then go back to base and develop the film and determine if she needed to go back and get more photos. Pat was stationed in Cam Rahn Bay and usually her temporary duties lasted about three days. She went to Vietnam three times, December of 1965, May or June of 1966 and September of 1966. Her missions were highly classified each time. She was sent back to photo school in Ft. Monmouth to become an instructor and became the first female instructor in the photo school section.

She met her first husband, Robert Williams. He was an M.P. at Ft. Monmouth. He died in combat in Vietnam. They had only been married for three months. She later met her second husband while she was an instructor. Robert Livingston was a student in her class. She got out of the Army after serving about two and a half years. She had four children, several of them went on to the military. Her son Matthew is a career military man, having served over 30 years. He has been stationed all over the world. Her granddaughter can speak five languages and is also now in the military.

Pat lived in LaGrange for several years and was a small business owner. She has always been deeply involved in helping fellow veterans and showing respect for their services. She has helped countless veterans navigate the system to get the benefits and medical attention they need. She was instrumental in establishing the military memorial in LaGrange. Her Flags for Vets campaign, which she spent many hours standing at the four way stop on Main street in LaGrange asking for donations, is a tribute to her hard work. She raised the money and with the City of LaGrange, established a Veteran's Memorial in the northwest corner of Washington Park. There are stones with each branch of the military represented and large flags poles with the United States flag, Missouri State Flag and the City of LaGrange Flags all flying proudly. The area is nicely landscaped and many people admire the monuments.

Pat currently lives at Senior Housing in Canton. She started a group, the Woman's Veteran's Group, consisting of tri-state women veterans. They meet the first Saturday after the 15th of the month. She keeps very busy and likes to volunteer at Schroeder Fitness Center in Canton. She always remembers to thank a veteran for their service.